MANKATO, Minn. -- Looking to make it back to the NSIC tournament title game for the second straight season, third seeded Augustana women's soccer (12-5-3) battled but fell short against second seeded Minnesota State (17-2-1) 3-0 in the NSIC semifinals. The Vikings will now have to wait until the NCAA DII soccer selection show to find out their postseason fate, which will take place on Nov. 5 at 5:30 p.m. and will be streamed live on NCAA.com.

Augustana head coach Brandon Barkus thought his team played hard, "Unfortunately we made a few too many mistakes as well as not finishing a few really good shots," Said Barkus, "I'm optimistic about getting into the Regional Tournament, but we have to wait until Monday evening when the brackets are released."

Minnesota State scored its goals in the 11th minute to build an early lead, and then added goals in 54th minute  and 77th to secure the win. The Mavericks outshot the Vikings 25-16, 11 of which were on goal for the Vikings. Claudia Pueschner recorded 13 saves in the match.

Grace Behm led the way for the Vikings with 6 shots taking in the NSIC semifinal matchup, while Rebecca Gasper and Morgan Keirstead each took three shots a piece.

The Vikings are 12-5-3 overall and if they are to continue their 2018 campaign, they will have to wait an see if they earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.  At the conclusion of the season, the top eight teams from each region advance to the regional tournament, which is hosted by the two highest remaining seeds, Nov. 9 and 11. Augustana has made the NCAA tournament four times in program history.

On Thursday, Augustana had seven players earn NSIC all-tournament honors. The Vikings honored were: Rebekah Thoresen, Lauren Brownrigg, Morgan Keirstead, Alexis Legg, Morgan Moe, Claudia Pueschner and Peyton Stenzel. Legg was also named NSIC Freshman of the Year, while Thoresen was named Defensive Player of the Year.